Mario Gotze has been urged to train harder and return to the peak condition that made him one of Europe’s emerging stars.

Former Bayern Munich star Mehmet Scholl has slammed the Germany World Cup winner for not working hard enough on his conditioning.

As reported by Football Insider, Gotze is a priority target for Liverpool in the summer as Jurgen Klopp targets a reunion with the 23-year-old former Borussia Dortmund forward.

With just over a year remaining on his Bayern Munich contract, Liverpool are hopeful of securing the German’s services for as little as £20million in the summer.

Gotze put a difficult club season to one side as he scored in Germany’s 4-1 win over Italy on Tuesday night.

Speaking on ARD television ahead of the clash, Scholl delivered a no-holds-barred verdict on why the versatile forward has failed to clinch a regular starting place at Bayern this season.

“Why can’t he produce consistent performances?” questioned Scholl, who helped Germany emerge victorious at Euro ’96. “For me the answer is obvious – he has to train much, much more.”

“I remember when he was very young at Dortmund. He was an arrow, he was so fast, he was so athletic. At the moment he is so far removed from that.”

Pep talks: Guardiola is not interested in the career development of Gotze

When asked whether incoming Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola cares about Gotze’s need to find his best form with regular action before Euro 2016, Scholl responded: “Why should it interest Guardiola? He has two months left [at Bayern]. He wants to win the Champions League with this team.